Two part door mounting and operating mechanism

ABSTRACT

A door structure capable of widely divergent uses comprises two door portions connected together by hinged connection and mounted on the outer end of a power actuated, axially extensible and retractable thrust member. Extension of the thrust member carries the door half portions bodily outwardly from the door opening, and vice versa, while a pair of door folding links are connected at one end thereof, one to each door, and at the other end thereof to a spring biased anchor member to swing the door portions toward each other to folded condition on opposite sides of the thrust member when the latter is extended, and apart toward door closing position when the thrust member is retracted.

United States Patent McClain TWO PART DOOR MOUNTING AND OPERATING MECHANISM [72] Inventor: Charles R. McClain, Chula Vista,

Calif.

[73] Assignee: Rohr Corporation, Chula Vista,

- Calif.

[22] Filed: Nov. 19, 1970 [2i] Appl. No.: 90,941

2/1963 Lagace ..296/ 146 1451 Oct. 3, 1972' 977,270 11/1910 Bussey ..105/343 Primary Examiner-Peter M. Caun Attomey-George E. Pearson 1571 ABSTRACT A door structure capable of widely divergent uses comprises two door portions connected together by hinged connection and mounted on the outer end of a power actuated, axially extensible and retractable thrust member. Extension of the thrust member carries the door half portions bodily outwardly from the door opening, and vice versa, while a pair of door folding links are connected at one end thereof, one to each door, and at the other end thereof to a spring biased anchor member to swing the door portions toward each other to folded condition on opposite sides of the thrust'member when the latter is extended, and apart toward door closing position when the thrust member is retracted.

12 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED HUI 3 I972 SHEET 1 BF 2 INVENTOR. CHARLES R. MCCLAIN ATTORNEY Pmminnm m2 SHEET 2 OF 2 FIG. 4

INVENTOR. CHARLES R. M CLAIN FIG. 5

ATTORNEY TWO PART DOOR MOUNTING AND OPERATING MECHANISM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the past doors have been provided for various types of enclosures, such as, for example, trains, passenger automobiles, buses, trucks, containers, people movers, vaults, buildings and ships. Most of such prior doors have been of either hinged, sliding, roll-up or revolving type, and of these the majority are of either hinged or sliding type. A hinged door has advantages of simplicity and low cost, but is sometimes difficult to seat, and to seal on its hinged edge. Also, when operated automatically the free edge of a hinged door sweeps about with the possibility of injuring a bystander in its path of movement. Sliding doors, are difficult to seal, and unless they are exposed exteriorly of thestructure on which they are mounted, like some railwayfreight door doors," they occupy valuable space in the wall or interior of a structure in which they are mounted. I

SUMMARYOF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a door comprising two complementary portions hingedly connected along a median line, which portions are of a combined size and shape to fit to, and seal, a door opening for which the door is provided. A power actuated, axially extensible and retractable thrust member is mounted within the enclosure for which the door'is provided, with its thrust axis substantially perpendicularly intersecting the axis of hinged interconnection of the door portions. Extension of the thrust member carries the door portions outwardly away from the door opening-and a link type actuator simultaneously swings the door portions toward each other to clear the door opening on both sides thereof. Retraction of the thrust member reverses this procedure to move the two part door into closed position in the door opening.

'A primary objective of the invention is to provide an improved, two part door which is adapted to flush mounting, is easily sealed, strong, trouble free, and capable of safe, full automatic operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing objectives and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:'

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, perspective view of the front end portion of a people mover type of vehicle designed for moving large numbers of people about selected areas, as at airports, shopping districts; amusement parks, etc. 7

FIG. 2 is a somewhat diagrammatic, horizontal, sectional view of a link mechanism for folding the two door portions together as they. are moved bodily outwardly from the door opening, and vice versa.

FIGS. 3 A, B, C and D show diagrammatically, from left to right, successive stages in the opening of a door embodying the invention.

FIG." 4 is a fragmentary, diagrammatic, cross sectional view through a portion of a vehicle taken at the vertical, transverse mid-plane of the door actuating mechanism, the door actuating mechanism being shown in solid lines and the remainder in dash-two-dot phantom lines.

two door portions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings in detail, a vehicle door 10 embodying the invention, comprises two door portions 10d and 10b which are hingedly connected together by conventional hinge means, including the hinge 11 shown in FIG. 6. The two door portions 10a and 10b are complementary, and are of a combined size and shape, when extended, to fit to, and to close, a door opening 12 in a vehicle A, see FIG. 1, for which they are designed. As illustrated in FIG. 1 the vehicle A is a so-called people mover type of vehicle, and the door opening 12 is of irregular size and shape.

A door carrying thrust member 13 is mounted in vehicle seat structure 14 extending transversely of the vehicle A, as best shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5. The thrust member 13 is mounted for axial movement in a pair of axially aligned slide bearings 17 and 18, see FIG. 4, the

common axis of which intersects perpendicularly the hinge axis of the door portions 10a and 10b when the latter are fitted to the door opening 12 to close it.

Suitable reversible, power driven actuating means, here illustrated as comprising a rotary, power driven nut 19, has releasable threaded engagement with a threaded portion 13a of the thrust member 13. The nut 19 may be rotatively driven in either, selected direction as required by a reversible electric motor 20 by means of conventional worm-and-pinion drive mechanism 21, see FIG. 4. Driving connection between the nut 19 and thrust member 13 may be released by conventional release mechanism, not shown, actuated by a lever 22, to free the thrust member 13 for axial sliding movement in the event it should be necessary to operate the door manually.

The outer end of the thrust member 13, see FIGS. 4 and 6, is connected to the pintle 23 of the door hinge 11 by means of a pivot plate 24 welded co-extensively to the outer end of the thrust member 13. The latter thus supports the door 10 while leaving the portions 10a and 10b free for swinging movement about their hinge axis, which is the axis of the pintle 23. Other hinges 27 and 28, see FIG. 4, are also provided at the upper and lower ends, respectively, of the door portions, see FIG. 4.

For automatically folding the door portions 10a and 10b together as the thrust member 13 is extended, and

'vice versa, spring biased, extensible linkage 29 is provided. This mechanism is illustrated as being located at the upper end of the door 10, but its location is not material to the invention and can be varied as desired for individual design requirements. This linkage 29 comprises a rod 30 mounted for axial movement in a cylinder 31, the latter being mounted to the car roof structure 32, see FIG. I, with its axis parallel to, and in the same transverse, vertical plane of the vehicle A as the axis of the thrust member 13. A head 33, see FIG. 2, is provided on the inner end of the slide rod 30 to limit its outward movement upon extension of the thrust member 13, and to bear on a coil spring 34 mounted co-axially in the cylinder 31 to resiliently limit its movement upon retraction of the thrust member.

A pair of links 37 and 38 are each pivotally connected at one end thereof to the outer end of the slide rod 30, and at their other end to the door portions a and 10b, respectively, at points to cause the door portions to swing between their open and closed positions upon retraction and extension of the thrust member 13 as shown in FIG. 3, and to be described later herein.

OPERATION Successive stages in the operation of the illustrative two part door 10, as it moves between its open and closed positions, are shown in FIG. 3 A, B, C and D. It is assumed that the door 10 initially is closed, as shown in FIG. 3A, that the thrust member 13 is fully retracted, and the door 10 is seated in sealed relation in a seat 39 provided therefor around the door opening 12.

To open the door 10 the motor 20, see FIG. 4, is actuated to rotatively drive the nut 19 in a direction to extend the thrust member 13 axially outwardly. As the door portions 100 and 10b are carried bodily outwardly by the extension of the thrust member 13, the head 33, see FIG. 2, of the slide rod 30 contacts, and is arrested by, the outer end of the cylinder 31 at approximately the stage shown in FIG. 38, thereby anchoring the pivotal connections of the links 37 and 38 to the slide rod 30 against further outward movement. Continued extension of the thrust member 13 beyond this point causes the thus-anchored links to fold the door portions together about their hinges 11, 27 and 28, see FIGS. 4 and 6, as shown progressively in FIGS. 3C and 3D, thereby swinging the door portions together to their fully folded or door open position shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3D, 4 and 5. Reversal of the nut 19 to retract the thrust member 13 reverses this procedure through the successive stages shown in FIGS. 3D 3A, thereby spreading the door portions 10a and 10b apart and drawing them into firmly seated, closed position on the seat 39 as shown in FIG. 3A.

The door of the present invention may be adapted by any ordinarily skilled designer or structural engineer to fit unusual conformations, such as rounded, angled or other, and when closed the mechanism draws the door portions firmly to seated, sealing condition. It is preferred that the bearings 17 and 18 be sliding type ball bearings for supporting the thrust member 13, in which case long lived, easy, trouble free operation is almost assured, and when required, maintenance, repair or replacement can be readily accomplished.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by U. S. Letters Patent is:

1. Door mounting and operating mechanism comprising, in combination with a structure having a door opening of known size and shape therein;

a pair of complementary door portions of a combined size and shape to fit to and close such door opening,

a door supporting thrust member mounted for guided, axial movement on the structure for movement between extended and retracted positions along a path extending transversely of such door opening means attaching the thrust member in wholly supported relation to the door portions, and

means for moving the thrust member axially between extended positions with the door portions wholly supported thereon and spaced bodily outwardly from the structure, thereby to expose the door opening for exit and entry, and retracted position with the door portions fitted to and closing the door opening.

2. Door mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein the thrust member comprises an elongated member mounted for axial, sliding movement in slide bearing means.

3. Door mechanism as defined in claim 2 wherein the thrust member is rod-like, and the slide bearing means comprises at least one slide ball bearing.

4. Door mechanism as claimed in claim 3 wherein the thrust member is threaded and is mounted in a reversible, power driven nut, whereby power driven rotation of the nut in one direction extends the thrust member, and in the other direction retracts the thrust member.

5. Door mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein the door members are pivotally connected in wholly supported relation to the thrust member, and link means operatively connect the door members to the structure for limiting outward and inward movement, respectively, of the free edges of the doors upon extension and retraction, respectively, of the thrust member, for folding the door portions together upon opposite sides of the thrust member upon extension of the thrust member, and for swinging the doors apart to substantially co-planar relation upon retraction of the thrust member.

6. Door mechanism is claimed in claim 5 wherein the link means limiting outward and inward movement of the door portions is pivotally connected at one end thereof to each of the door portions, and at the other end thereof to the structure for limited relative move ment of the link means with respect thereto.

7. Door mechanism comprising, in combination with a structure having a door opening of known size and shape therein;

a pair of complementary door portions hingedly connected to each other and of a combined size and shape to fit to and close such door opening,

an elongated, door supporting thrust member mounted on the structure for movement lengthwise thereof between extended and retracted positions along a path extending transversely of such door opening,

means pivotally attaching an end of the thrust member in wholly supporting relation to the door portions co-axially of their hinged connection, and

means limiting outward and inward movement, respectively, of the free edges of the door portions upon extension and retraction, respectively, of the thrust member of folding the doors together in wholly supported relation free of the structure to expose the entire door opening upon extension of the thrust member, and for swinging the door portions apart to fit to and close the door opening upon retraction of the thrust member.

8. Door mechanism as claimed in claim 7 wherein the structure is a vehicle, and the thrust member is mounted in a seat structure extending transversely relative to such door opening.

9. Door mechanism as claimed in claim 8 wherein the thrust member is a threaded, rod-like member, and

mounted to such seat structure, a rotary, power driven nut threadedly engages the thrust member, and reversible power drive means operatively engages the nut to move the thrust member axially in a selected direction.

10. Door mechanism as claimed in claim 9 wherein spring biased restraining means acting between each door portion and a fixed element of the car swings the door portions toward each other to folded condition upon extension of the thrust member, and swings the door portions apart to door closing position upon retraction of the thrust member.

11. Door mechanism as claimed in claim 10 wherein the door restraining means comprises a cylinder mounted to the vehicle axially parallel to the thrust member, a slide rod is mounted for axial movement in the cylinder, means limits movement of the slide rod to a distance less than that of the thrust member during extension and retraction thereof, and link means connects the outer end of the slide rod to each door portion at a point permitting such swinging movement of the doors upon extension and retraction of the thrust member.

12. Door mechanism as claimed in claim 6 wherein the link means comprises a pair of links pivotally connected to the outer end of an elongated side member mounted on the support structure for sidable movement parallel to that of the thrust member, and in addition to folding the doors and swinging them apart, resists pivotal movement of the doors about the thrust member as an axis.

* F I I 

1. Door mounting and operating mechanism comprising, in combination with a structure having a door opening of known size and shape therein; a pair of complementary door portions of a combined size and shape to fit to and close such door opening, a door supporting thrust member mounted for guided, axial movement on the structure for movement between extended and retracted positions along a path extending transversely of such door opening means attaching the thrust member in wholly supported relation to the door portions, and means for moving the thrust member axially between extended positions with the door portions wholly supported thereon and spaced bodily outwardly from the structure, thereby to expose the door opening for exit and entry, and retracted position with the door portions fitted to and closing the door opening.
 2. Door mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein the thrust member comprises an elongated member mounted for axial, sliding movement in slide bearing means.
 3. Door mechanism as defined in claim 2 wherein the thrust member is rod-like, and the slide bearing means comprises at least one slide ball bearing.
 4. Door mechanism as claimed in claim 3 wherein the thrust member is threaded and is mounted in a reversible, power driven nut, whereby power driven rotation of the nut in one direction extends the thrust member, and in the other direction retracts the thrust member.
 5. Door mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein the door members are pivotally connected in wholly supported relation to the thrust member, and link means operatively connect the door members to thE structure for limiting outward and inward movement, respectively, of the free edges of the doors upon extension and retraction, respectively, of the thrust member, for folding the door portions together upon opposite sides of the thrust member upon extension of the thrust member, and for swinging the doors apart to substantially co-planar relation upon retraction of the thrust member.
 6. Door mechanism is claimed in claim 5 wherein the link means limiting outward and inward movement of the door portions is pivotally connected at one end thereof to each of the door portions, and at the other end thereof to the structure for limited relative movement of the link means with respect thereto.
 7. Door mechanism comprising, in combination with a structure having a door opening of known size and shape therein; a pair of complementary door portions hingedly connected to each other and of a combined size and shape to fit to and close such door opening, an elongated, door supporting thrust member mounted on the structure for movement lengthwise thereof between extended and retracted positions along a path extending transversely of such door opening, means pivotally attaching an end of the thrust member in wholly supporting relation to the door portions co-axially of their hinged connection, and means limiting outward and inward movement, respectively, of the free edges of the door portions upon extension and retraction, respectively, of the thrust member of folding the doors together in wholly supported relation free of the structure to expose the entire door opening upon extension of the thrust member, and for swinging the door portions apart to fit to and close the door opening upon retraction of the thrust member.
 8. Door mechanism as claimed in claim 7 wherein the structure is a vehicle, and the thrust member is mounted in a seat structure extending transversely relative to such door opening.
 9. Door mechanism as claimed in claim 8 wherein the thrust member is a threaded, rod-like member, and is mounted for axial movement in slide bearing means mounted to such seat structure, a rotary, power driven nut threadedly engages the thrust member, and reversible power drive means operatively engages the nut to move the thrust member axially in a selected direction.
 10. Door mechanism as claimed in claim 9 wherein spring biased restraining means acting between each door portion and a fixed element of the car swings the door portions toward each other to folded condition upon extension of the thrust member, and swings the door portions apart to door closing position upon retraction of the thrust member.
 11. Door mechanism as claimed in claim 10 wherein the door restraining means comprises a cylinder mounted to the vehicle axially parallel to the thrust member, a slide rod is mounted for axial movement in the cylinder, means limits movement of the slide rod to a distance less than that of the thrust member during extension and retraction thereof, and link means connects the outer end of the slide rod to each door portion at a point permitting such swinging movement of the doors upon extension and retraction of the thrust member.
 12. Door mechanism as claimed in claim 6 wherein the link means comprises a pair of links pivotally connected to the outer end of an elongated side member mounted on the support structure for sidable movement parallel to that of the thrust member, and in addition to folding the doors and swinging them apart, resists pivotal movement of the doors about the thrust member as an axis. 